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Crews battle large blaze, wintry conditions near S.W. 6th and Clay

Battalion chief: Fire at apartment building under control in 15 to 20 minutes

Topeka fire crews douse hot spots in the rear of an apartment building in the 500 block of S.W. Clay early Wednesday evening after a structure fire burned out of control for 15 to 20 minutes.

Fire crews knocked down a significant apartment dwelling fire early Wednesday evening near S.W. 6th and Clay but also had to contend with brutal weather conditions, shoveling snow and tossing chemicals around as water pooled and began to solidify in areas.

Emergency personnel were sent about 5:40 p.m. to the 500 block of S.W. Clay on a report of a fully-engulfed structure fire.

Personnel first to the scene saw flames rising from the upper portion of the back of the building and thick black smoke escaping from its front door.

Battalion Chief Mike Thompson said crews used ladders to enter the structure from the second story on the building’s rear to search for people.

Thompson said dispatchers were told a person was trapped inside and that another person had a ladder on the back side attempting a rescue. That report hadn’t been confirmed, he said, and no one was found inside after two searches.

“It looks like the place was cut up into six different apartments, so it took them a while to get through everything and search everything,” Thompson said.

Firefighters attacked the flames through the front door with a hose. Thompson estimated the blaze was under control in 15 to 20 minutes.

The exact address of the structure wasn’t immediately known, but it was on the west side of S.W. Clay just north of S.W. 6th. The dwelling appeared to be a newer building.

No hydrants were frozen in the frigid single-digit temperatures, but a fire engine had an air horn malfunction that left it blaring for some time. A mechanic could be seen underneath the engine on snow working to silence it.

Crews had to contend with driving on streets packed with snow after 13 inches of it fell Tuesday. Wind chill indices were below zero. Shovels helped clear stairs and walkways of snow, and personnel also applied chemicals where water pooled or ran in areas.

“We got a lot of water down here from all the hose lines that’s freezing up,” Thompson said while standing in the street motioning back toward the curb and a walkway. “Guys are starting to slip and fall.”

No injuries to firefighters were incurred.

Thompson expected water damage to the building’s first floor and smoke damage throughout. Fire damage likely was confined to the upper floor on the back end of the building, he said.